Patrick Swayze is to set hearts racing yet again as he makes his West End debut in the hit musical Guys And Dolls. And the lucky lass who will appear alongside him is none other than former Brookside actress Claire Sweeney.
The suave actor lost no time in whisking his new partner off her feet at a photo call on Monday. Patrick, who is best known for playing Johnny Castle in the 1987 cult classic Dirty Dancing, originally trained as a dancer. Despite appearances on Broadway in Chicago and Grease, the Hollywood heart-throb has admitted he's nervous about his latest starring role: "There's a little fear factor involved," he said. "I've only got three weeks of rehearsal."
Patrick, 53, will play gambler Nathan Detroit, taking over from Men Behaving Badly's Neil Morrissey in the part played by Frank Sinatra for the 1955 movie. Liverpudlian Claire will star as his long suffering fiancée Miss Adelaide. The Celebrity Big Brother star is no newcomer to the musical scene. She has appeared in Chicago and previously spent four years as a singer on cruise liners.
Both have been signed up for an eight-week run at the Piccadilly Theatre, starting on July 10, and Claire will go on to headline the national tour of Guys And Dolls in September.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
